Passing Strangers on a Moonlit Night
by Ammadeau
Summary: What if Gemma had married Dr. Muzino and Ranma had a twin sister Ami?
1. Default Chapter Title

Passing Strangers on a Moonlit Night  
(A Ranma One Half / Sailor Moon Alternate History)  
By Ammadeau  
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org  
http://members.tripod.com/~Ammadeau/fanfiction.htm  
  
1980  
The doctor slowly approached the pensive man in the   
waiting room, who was wearing a martial arts gi, of all things. The   
doctor wanted to say this in just the right way since the man had   
already fainted once. You'd think a martial artist could stand   
seeing his own child being born.  
"Well, doctor?" the man asked nervously.  
"Congratulations, Mr. Saotome, it's a boy . . ."  
A boy, boy! Genma thought, suddenly hugging the   
surprised doctor and dancing around the room at the same time.   
Finally, he had an heir!  
When the man had finally calmed down, the doctor told   
him the rest of the news. ". . . and a girl!"  
Genma Saotome, master of Anything Goes Martial Arts,   
fainted once again.  
  
1985  
Genma grumbled again as he watched Ranma and Ami   
playing when the boy should have been practicing. He had tried to   
speak to his wife about it, but she simply couldn't understand the   
importance of regular training. How was he supposed to raise the   
boy to the best martial artist of his generation with all these women   
around babying him? Something had to be done.  
  
1988  
Mrs. Saotome wiped tears from her eyes as she put down   
the phone. She had always regretted making that fool agreement   
with her husband, but never more so than that moment. Ever since   
then she had felt their absence and had told her friends to bring her   
any news of her son and husband. She had even sold the house and   
moved to an apartment to get away from the memories.  
Several weeks ago she had heard a had a report of a young   
boy being rescued from a pit of cats, but too late. He had been so   
torn up that they had doubted the boy would last long. Before   
anyone could bring him to the hospital, however, a bald man in a gi   
grabbed him and ran away. Without immediate medical attention,   
there was no chance the boy would survive. Ever since then, she   
had been frantic for any news on her son. Today the call had   
finally come, they had found a boy's body so badly mutilated that it   
was almost unidentifiable, except for the torn gi which it wore.  
That was it. Her son Ranma, who she had not seen in three   
years, was now dead because of her husband's foolishness. No:   
husband no longer, for what he had done had gone well beyond her   
breaking point. It was time for Mrs. Saotome to get a divorce and   
become Dr. Nodoka Mizuno again.  
"What's wrong Mom?" Ami asked her as she walked into   
the room. She had become such a polite and studious child after   
getting over the loss of the brother and father. Nodoka didn't want   
to tell her, but she couldn't bring herself to keep the truth from her   
daughter.  
"Ami, I'm sorry to tell you this, but you're brother is dead."  
Nodoka was heartbroken as she watched her daughter run   
to her room, tears streaming down her eyes, but she knew that she   
had done the right thing.  
  
With people still looking for him after the cat incident,   
Genma had decided to head to China a little earlier than he had   
originally planned. That meant skipping on those Chinese   
language courses he had planned on taking, but he wasn't worried.   
What could go wrong?  
He was lucky that the boy had recovered so quickly from   
those cat-inflicted injuries. Even Genma realized that Ranma   
shouldn't have recovered so well or so fast, but just attributed to   
the wonderful Saotome genes with which he was blessed.  
  
1995  
Ranma scoffed as he looked over the long bamboo poles   
jutting out of shallow pools. "This is a training ground? Doesn't   
look that tough to me."  
"Enough of your whining, boy," Genma declared, leaping   
up to land only a bit unsteadily on one of the poles. It was a   
testament to his ability as a martial artist that the thin bamboo pole   
could support his considerable bulk. "Let's get to training."  
Ranma nodded and leapt to one of the other poles, where he   
maintained his balance easily as he waited for his father's opening   
move.  
Both of them ignored their guide yelling warnings in bad   
Japanese as they simultaneously leapt up and began their training.  
  
The guide sighed and found a comfortable place to sit.   
They never did listen, not until afterwards at least. He had already   
put the teapot on the stove to get the hot water ready. He knew   
that he was going to need it.  
  
Ranma got in a lucky shot. There was a momentary slip in   
his father's defenses and he went for it, knocking the old man into   
one of the shallow pools. Or at least Ranma believed them to be   
shallow before; that pool seemed to swallow his father up until he   
couldn't be seen.  
Ranma expected his father to leap right out again, probably   
complaining about his ungrateful son getting him wet. He did not   
expect the unearthly silence to remain unbroken for several   
minutes, nor for their guide to suddenly rush over to the pool with   
a long bamboo pole, muttering to himself in Chinese. Ranma got a   
cold feeling in the pit of his stomach that something had just gone   
very wrong.  
By the time he was down by the pool where his father had   
landed, the guide had pulled his pop from it and was yelling at   
Ranma not to touch anything wet. He noticed that the guide was   
wearing thick rubber gloves as he hauled Genma onto dry land and   
flipped him over on his back. He also noted that his father's skin   
looked pale and waxy; all except for a large, purplish bruise on his   
forehead.  
He watched the guide check over his father for several   
moments, sigh finally, take out a notebook, and start to write.   
Ranma had picked up a few things during their trip to China, one   
of which was reading some Chinese. He peered over the guide's   
shoulder and read, "Spring of Drowned Martial Artist."  
The word 'drowned' hit him like a hammer. 'No, it can't be   
true.'  
"Come on, wake up, Pop," Ranma said frantically as he   
shook his father, "I'm not falling for your tricks this time, old man.   
I know you're just pretending to be unconscious. Wake up!"  
"It no use, Mr. Customer," the guide told him in a resigned   
tone, "he gone."  
Ranma wanted to deny it, to explain to the guide that his   
father was always faking things like this, but his eyes were drawn   
to the bruise which was starting to yellow at the edges and his gi   
was open to reveal Genma's bare chest. It was clear that he wasn't   
breathing.  
"No!!!!" Ranma screamed and ran, in the grip of a panic   
worse than any caused by cats. He practically flew through the   
valley as the guide struggled to keep up, shouting more warnings   
in broken Japanese.  
Ranma didn't even see the pool before he hit it. His eyes   
had been too filled with tears to notice anything at that point. The   
sudden splash caught him by surprise, as well as the odd tingling   
sensation that swept through his body. Somehow the coolness of   
the water restored his rationality. He knelt in the water and took a   
deep breath.  
  
This gave the guide enough time to catch up, though he was   
gasping for air as he stood by the side of the pool. "Very bad," he   
said as if reading an often rehearsed speech, "You fall in   
Nyanniichuan, Spring of Drowned Girl . . .?"  
The guide was shocked to find that Mr. Customer was still   
a mister. The way that the gi was plastered to him because of the   
water left no doubt that this was still a boy. How could that be?   
He checked his notebook and it was clearly marked as the drowned   
girl spring. The drowned boy spring was on the other side of the   
valley.  
"In all the years I work as guide," he said in Japanese, "This   
never happen before! You fall in spring of drowned girl, but you   
not turn into girl!"  
Ranma felt something, a memory, well up from deep inside   
him, as if it had been locked behind some door and the cool water   
of the spring had been the key. It was of a face which he was   
certain that he had never seen before and one he could place no   
name to. It was of a young woman at least a decade older than   
himself, though there was something ageless about her. She had   
bright red hair worn in a strange hairstyle and clothes the likes of   
which he had never seen before. When Ranma left the pool, the   
vision faded, though he could not forget her face.  
  
Ranma had found his mother's address among his father's   
things and decided that the training journey was over: it was time   
to go home. With the ashes of his father, he started the long   
journey back to Japan.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Note: This takes place a little after Sailor Moon S begins. Ranma,   
like the Sailor Senshi, is fifteen.  
  
Ranma trudged through the streets of Juuban, slip of paper   
with address on it in one hand, umbrella in the other. The rain was   
pouring down in sheets, obscuring everything. He wasn't surprised   
though; it seemed that after Jusenkyo, wherever he went water   
would find him. It would have made sense if he had gotten cursed,   
but for some reason when he had fallen into that pool, nothing had   
happened, nothing except the sudden vision he had had.  
He finally found the address. It was a surprisingly lavish   
apartment in a well-to-do neighborhood. He wondered about some   
of the things he and his father had to do to scrape by when his   
mother lived in a place like this. Ranma stood before the door for   
some moments, gathering up his courage. What would he say to   
his mother after so many years, after his father was gone? He was   
still too numb from his pop's death to feel anything but sadness and   
anger.  
When he finally rang the bell, he was surprised to be   
greeted at the door by a girl his own age. She had short, blue-black   
hair and was someone that he might have found cute under other   
circumstances. There was also something deeply familiar about   
her, but he just couldn't place it.  
  
Ami put her book down as soon as she heard the doorbell.   
She expected it to be her mother and wanted to help her put away   
the groceries. Her mother was usually so busy being a doctor that   
Ami had to do all the shopping, but she had some free time today   
and wanted to treat her daughter to a warm, home-cooked meal for   
once. Ami would have preferred that her mother simply take it   
easy and relax, but found it difficult to argue with her mom.  
So Ami was very surprised to find a handsome pig-tailed   
boy at the door, looking somewhat somber and downcast. She   
noted that his mood seemed to fit the weather perfectly, with the   
dark clouds and pouring rain. There was also something familiar   
about him, but then it could have been his blue eyes, which were   
much like her mother's, and her own.  
"Can I help you?" she asked him.  
It took the boy a few moments to respond. "Yes. Does a   
Mrs. Saotome live here?"  
Ami thought for a moment. That had been her mother's   
maiden name before she had gotten divorced. Could this be a   
cousin of hers? She didn't know any of her aunts, if she had any,   
from her father's side of the family, and knew that her grandparents   
had died when she was still very young.  
"I'm sorry, I don't know anyone by that name. Only my   
mother and I live here."  
"Oh."  
Ami had never heard such a tone of hopelessness conveyed   
in a single word before. The very thought of turning this boy away   
in the rain made her heart hurt. She couldn't do it, even if he was a   
complete stranger.  
"My mother might know her though. She just stepped out   
to do some shopping, but should be back soon. Why don't you   
come in and wait?" Ami even smiled reassuringly at the boy. She   
may have spent most of her time with books, but she knew a cute   
boy when she saw one.  
The boy seemed to want to study his feet. "I don't know."  
Impulsively, Ami grabbed the boy's hand and dragged him   
inside. "Come on, my mom should be home soon and you'll   
probably get soaked wandering around in the rain."  
  
"So who is this Mrs. Saotome you're looking for?" Ami   
asked as she lead the boy into the living room.  
"My mother," Ranma replied, still looking mostly at the   
floor.  
"Huh?" asked Ami, a little confused to why this boy was   
searching for his own mother, especially using an address that had   
to be over ten years old.  
"I haven't seen my mother in nine years," he answered her,   
somehow guessing her question.  
"Why is that? Did your parents divorce?" Ami asked.  
She hadn't seen her own father for about the same span of   
time, ever since he had taken her brother on that ill-fated training   
trip. It was so long ago that Ami couldn't even remember what he   
looked like, only that he was a big man with an even bigger   
appetite.  
"Not really. My father took me on a nine year training trip   
to study martial arts."  
Ami shook her head. It was just an odd coincidence, it had   
to be. She knew that her brother was dead. "And not once during   
that whole time did he bring you back to visit with your Mom?"   
Ami asked with a little surprise and anger.  
Ranma shook his head.  
Surprise dropped out of Ami's voice and her anger   
increased to near-Rei levels. "How could someone do that to their   
own child? That's horrible. I'd be tempted to bring your father up   
on wrongful parenting charges, and perhaps even kidnapping."  
"You can't 'cause he's dead."  
Any reply Ami had planned died in her throat as she looked   
at the pig-tailed boy in horror. Here she had been badmouthing   
someone, which she almost never did, someone she didn't even   
know, only to hear that he was dead. When Ranma looked at her,   
he was stone-faced, but Ami got the sense that he was trying hard   
not to break down and cry.  
Ami was finally able to break the veil of silence by saying,   
"You wait here and I'll get us some snacks."  
  
Ranma sighed in relief as the girl went into the kitchen. He   
thought for a moment there that he was going to embarrass himself   
by weeping in front of Ami. Here he was a total stranger, she had   
done nothing but be nice to him, he went and chased her off by   
saying something like that. Ranma still felt depressed, but he   
didn't want to make his host depressed as well.  
  
Ami reentered the living room with a tray of rice balls and   
tea, along with a determination to steer clear of any gloomy   
subjects. She could have just brought some crackers and soda, like   
she and her friends usually had for snacks, but she decided she   
wanted to make something a little more impressive for the cute, if   
somewhat melancholy, boy. She nearly jumped back in surprise   
when the boy started to gobble up the rice balls like they were   
going to run away from him. Ami never thought that she'd meet   
someone with the same table manners as Usagi.  
Ranma paused in mid-bite when he realized that Ami was   
staring at him. Suddenly feeling self-conscious, he said, "Sorry   
about that, I guess I was hungrier than I thought."  
"It's okay, really, I was just surprised," Ami told him. "You   
happen to eat a lot like a friend of mine."  
"Your boyfriend?"  
Ami blushed and stammered a little. "No, not that. My   
friend Usagi is a girl, though she does eat like a boy. Well, that's   
not true. Her boyfriend doesn't eat like that. She eats like no one   
else that I've ever seen before, except for you."  
For Ranma, thinking of his eating habits only made him   
think of his father, which only lead to depression. Determined not   
to fall into that again, Ranma changed the subject. "Ah, so what   
does your mom do for a living?"  
Ami had noticed the expressions Ranma's face went   
through and the abrupt change of subject, but decided to let it pass   
without comment. "She's a doctor at Juuban General Hospital.   
Normally, she's very busy, but today she took the day off and   
decided to make dinner. She's still out buying the ingredients."  
"A doctor? That's pretty cool." With all the scrapes and   
bruises Ranma had gotten over the years, he had earned a lot of   
respect for people who practiced medicine.  
"You think so? I want to go to college and study medicine   
just like my mother."  
Ranma could also understand following in the footsteps of   
a parent. "I'm sure you'll be a great doctor, you're such a nice   
person."  
Ami blushed a little at the compliment.  
  
Nodoka Mizuno, who preferred not to be known as a doctor   
when she wasn't working, was putting away the groceries without   
really paying attention to what she was doing. As a result, Ami   
would have to straighten things out later, since the eggs ended up   
in the cabinet and the tofu in the freezer. Ami was exactly who   
was causing her to be distracted. She had expected to be greeted at   
the door when she rang the bell, only to stand in the rain like a fool   
for several minutes.  
Nodoka had come in the house with every intention of   
seeking her daughter out, only to be stopped by a sound that she   
hadn't heard in a long time: laughter. Her always-serious daughter   
was actually laughing? The next sound she heard might have even   
been more of a surprise. A boy's voice? Her, never went on a date   
no matter how much she was encouraged to do so, daughter   
actually had a boy over? Whatever the reason for these surprising   
events, Ms. Mizuno was determined to stay out of sight and not   
spoil them. That didn't mean she wouldn't take a little peek around   
the corner and get a look at this boy. She had to make sure if he   
was right for her daughter after all.  
  
Ranma found himself smiling, something he hadn't done in   
weeks. He didn't know why exactly, but somehow this girl just   
brought it out of him, like a part of himself that had been buried   
long ago. She made it easy for him to forget about his father's   
death, at least for a little while.  
Ami was currently relating some of the non-senshi antics of   
Usagi and her friends. Her dumpling-haired friend was one of the   
few things that could get Ami to laugh, and stories about her   
seemed enough to bring Ranma out of his depression.  
Seeing the once melancholy boy now laughing, Ami   
smiled. "I just realized that here we've been talking for a while   
now and we haven't even introduced ourselves."  
"Oh, I'm Ranma, Ranma Saotome."  
Ami could only stare at him in surprise.  
Ranma noticed her reaction. "What? What is it?"  
Ami shook her head almost violently to clear it. If one   
coincidence could happen, so could another. Ranma may have   
been a popular name in the Saotome family. "Nothing, it's just--"  
Both Ami and Ranma were surprised by a large gasp they   
heard from somewhere in the direction of the kitchen.  
Ranma was shocked when a middle-aged woman ran up to   
him and gathered him up into a giant hug. "Ranma!" she shouted   
with tears in her eyes.  
Nodoka looked him over through eyes blurred by tears. It   
had been so long, but she could still see signs of the little boy that   
had grown into this fine man before her. She could hardly believe   
that he son was alive after all these years, but could not deny the   
proof before her.  
"Mom?" Ranma said weakly, as he looked into face that he   
had only seen in dreams for many years.  
  
"Mom, what's going on?" Ami asked with a slight tremor in   
her voice. She had never seen her always-in-control mother act   
anything like this before, at least as far as she could remember.  
"Ami, this is your twin brother Ranma!"  
Ami did what any other sensible girl would have done in   
the same situation. She fainted.  
  
After Nodoka had brought her daughter Ami up to her bed   
to rest from what she now realized must have been a terrible shock,   
she came back down to sit by her newly rediscovered son, Ranma.  
For a while, all she did was look at him, which made   
Ranma considerably nervous. She couldn't stop thinking of what a   
fine boy he had grown into.  
"Tell me son, where's your father? I want to give Genma a   
piece of my mind from keeping you from me for nine years   
without a word. I thought you had been killed a long time ago.   
You don't know how much that hurt Ami and I."  
"Pops is … dead."  
Ranma was concentrating so hard on not breaking down   
and crying that he didn't notice when Nodoka has swept him up in   
a gentle hug. In fact, he nearly jumped in surprise when she spoke   
right next to his ear.  
"Oh my poor baby, that must have been very hard on you,"   
Nodoka told him. She herself only felt a small pang of loss on   
hearing of Genma's passing. Any feelings she once had for him   
had died abruptly when she had heard him responsible for her son's   
death.  
"It is, kinda. The old man wasn't nice or anything, but I   
knew that he always cared about me. He never praised what I did,   
only turned around and pushed me harder, but I know he was   
proud."  
"I'm proud of you too, my son, having come so far on your   
own. I can see that you're a fine young man and I'm sure an   
excellent martial artist. But that doesn't mean that you have to   
hold everything in. It's okay to cry when you feel like it."  
Ranma tried to hold it back, but it was as if his mother's   
permission had been the key to unlock the floodgates. With a cry   
of "Mom!", Ranma held on to Nodoka, his whole body shaking   
with his sobs. It was some time before they finally stopped.  
"There, there Ranma," Nodoka told her son with a small   
smile. "Do you feel better now?"  
Ranma nodded as he dried his eyes with the tissue she had   
given him.  
"Good. You wait right here while I check on your sister.   
She should be coming around at any moment."  
  
When Ami came to again, she found herself in her bed with   
her mother looking over her in concern.  
"Mom, I had a really strange dream that some guy turned   
out to be my twin brother."  
"Honey, that was no dream. Ranma is your brother. He's   
waiting in the living room."  
"But you told me my brother died! And how can we be   
twins? We don't look that much alike."  
Ms. Muzino looked a little sad as she spoke. "You two   
were born as fraternal twins, not identical, even though when you   
were growing up you did both look very much alike. You were   
also inseparable. Where one was, the other was always not far   
behind. As babies, you'd cry endlessly if you were separated.  
"But your father wanted to raise Ranma to be a great   
martial artist and felt that your and my influence were making him   
weak. And so, despite all I tried to do to stop him, he took Ranma   
away from us."  
  
Ranma sat in the living room, no less surprised than Ami   
was. The nice girl he'd been talking to had been his twin sister all   
along. Ranma had known that he had a sister, but with all that had   
happened recently he had forgotten about her for a while. Besides,   
he thought that his sister and him would look identical.  
At first he'd been doubtful. He immediately accepted that   
Nodoka was his mom, he couldn't see the point of faking that   
degree of enthusiasm and she did seem sort of familiar, like   
someone he'd seen a long time ago.  
There had been some sort of initial recognition with Ami   
too, but Ranma couldn't place it. Ami could be adopted and   
Nodoka was trying to keep that a secret, but the two woman looked   
a little too much alike for that to be true. Even though they weren't   
identical, deep down he knew that this girl was his sister Ami.  
"Ranma?" Nodoka called down from upstairs and   
distracting him from his thoughts. "Come up here and get   
reacquainted with your sister!"  
The pig-tailed boy shrugged. Better face this now and get   
it over with. "Coming … Mom!"  
  
Ami was still in bed when Ranma came into their room.   
For a while they simply looked at each other, wondering what to   
say. They were both more than a little embarrassed over the   
attraction that they had felt towards each other. Ami rationalized   
that this had probably been sisterly affection without her realizing   
it.  
"Oh, I'll leave you two alone while I get started on dinner,"   
their mother announced, closing the door behind her.  
"Um, hi," Ranma settled on after a while, "I'm Ranma."  
Ami smiled and then giggled a bit at that. Somehow seeing   
Ranma acting so nervous had evaporated all the nervousness she   
felt.  
"You're my brother, Ranma, you don't have to introduce   
yourself. We haven't seen each other in a long time, but we're   
hardly strangers. Actually, we have years of catching up to do.   
Why don't you sit down and tell me what you've been doing for the   
last nine years?"  
Ranma laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head.   
He took the offered seat though, and began in on his life story, not   
feeling as nervous as he just had been.  
  
"So our father is dead?" Ami said near the end of the tale.  
Ranma nodded, feeling his earlier depression return.  
"I never got to know our father very well. Could you tell   
me about him?"  
Ranma went into a long description of their father. "Well,   
he was a big man cause he always ate a lot. Food and martial arts   
seemed the only important things to him. When he wasn't eating,   
he was training me in martial arts. Some of the training methods   
he used were kind of strange; some worked, while others didn't.   
He always wore a big white gi, with a while handkerchief to cover   
his bald head and wire-rim glasses. He had a loud voice, it always   
seemed like he was shouting. Hmm..."  
"I think I get the idea," Ami said and laughed a bit.  
Soon Ranma was laughing as well, while in the back of his   
mind he was thinking that suddenly how great it was to have his   
sister back again.  



	2. Default Chapter Title

Passing Strangers on a Moonlit Night  
(A Ranma One Half / Sailor Moon Alternate History)  
By Ammadeau  
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org  
http://members.tripod.com/~Ammadeau/fanfiction.htm  
  
Note: In this alt universe, Minako goes to the same school as most   
of the other senshi. Rei still attends a different school.  
  
Chapter 2  
  
The next morning, Ranma found that someone was shaking   
him awake. "Geez pops, let me sleep for a few more minutes,   
would you? Why do we have to train so early in the morning   
anyway?"  
The shaking suddenly stopped and Ranma settled back into   
his nice, comfortable bed. Despite his desire for sleep, after a few   
moments the fact that something was wrong started to penetrate   
into his brain. He wanted to ignore it, but it persisted to bother   
him. He rolled his head on his big fluffy pillow as tried to think of   
what it was. Wait a minute. He didn't have a big fluffy pillow or a   
comfortable bed. All he had was a thin bedroll that he used to   
sleep on the hard ground.  
Ranma cracked open an eye and immediately regretted it.   
The glare of sunlight was nearly blinding. He blinked and his eye   
adjusted enough to make out a young, short-haired girl about his   
age staring at him while in what looked to be surprise mixed with   
pity.  
Things started to register to his still groggy mind. This was   
his bed and pillow, in the room that his mother had given to him   
last night. The girl in front of him was his twin sister from whom   
he'd been separated for nine years. And there wouldn't be any   
morning training sessions anymore because his father was dead.   
The last thought made Ranma close his eye and try to find the   
comfort of sleep again.  
Somehow, Ami knew that Ranma was thinking of his . . .   
no, their father again. It was strange that she could feel nothing   
over his death. She had loved him very much in the few years that   
she had known him and still cherished those memories to this very   
day. *I guess that to me he died when I thought you had, Ranma. I   
feel ashamed that I can't grieve over him now because I did so long   
ago.*  
Ami started shaking him again, saying, "Come on, Ranma,   
you have to get up. You can't be late for your first day of school."  
"What's the point of me going to school?" he grumbled into   
his pillow. "Bet they don't teach martial arts there. Better if I spent   
that time on something useful, like training."  
"School is very important. You need to study hard so you   
can pass the entrance exams to high school. With all your   
traveling, you're going to need to study twice as hard as everyone   
else. Life can't be just martial arts, Ranma."  
"Who says?"  
Ami stood back from Ranma and thought about the   
situation for a bit. It was obvious her brother was depressed over   
their father's death. She couldn't blame him for that, in fact, she   
would have been surprised if he wasn't, but he needed to do   
something or he'd never get over it. School might just be the thing   
to shake him out of his funk. He'd at least get to be out among   
other people his age. She knew that her own boy-crazy friends   
would be interested in her handsome brother. Usagi also had a   
knack for making depressed people feel better, even if she was   
sometimes clumsy about it.  
What she needed was a new tactic. She suddenly   
remembered Ranma gobbling down the rice balls last night.   
"Breakfast is waiting. You better get up before it's all gone."  
Ami had to jump back as a sudden gust of wind flew by her   
face, caused by a blur that vaguely resembled her brother. She   
blinked in surprise. She didn't know any human could move that   
fast . . . outside of a senshi uniform that is. She remembered a   
certain incident when Sailor Mars had tried to stand between ice   
cream and a hungry Sailor Moon. The results hadn't been pretty.  
On coming to the dinner table, she saw her mother babying   
Ranma incessantly, making sure he had enough to eat and that   
everything was just right. She was even cutting up his fish for   
him! Ami fought to ignore the sudden stab of jealousy. Her   
mother was a busy woman and couldn't spend that much time with   
her. Ami accepted that. But she also enjoyed those rare moments   
when her mother did have the time to devote to her and here was   
one such moment snatched from her. Ami shook the thought   
away. This was her brother, whom mom hadn't seen for nine years,   
whom she thought was dead! Of course her mother wanted to baby   
him; she never thought that she would have the chance to do so   
again.  
So it was with an only slightly strained smile that Ami took   
her place at the table. She needn't have worried. Nodoka included   
her in her over-mothering without missing a beat. It wasn't long   
before she had managed to embarrass both brother and sister by   
treating them like little children.  
"Now, Ranma," Nodoka instructed her son once his   
impressive appetite had finally been sated. "I know that it's going   
to be difficult for you, jumping into school when the year is half-  
over already, so just try and do your best. Your sister Ami should   
be able to help you with any problems you have. She gets the   
highest marks in every class. I'm so proud of her!"  
"Mother!" Ami said, embarrassed by her mother's gushing.  
Ranma smiled to see his mother's onslaught of affection   
directed at someone else. He was incredibly happy to have his   
mother back again, yet he still wished that she wasn't so . . .   
extreme with showing how much she cared. After living nine   
years on the road with his pop, Ranma wasn't at all used to open   
displays of affection. It was embarrassing and made him feel   
uncomfortable. And then it made him feel guilty for feeling that   
way about it.  
"I think we better leave for school now," Ami said, mostly   
to her mom to distract her from her heaping of praises. She didn't   
know what she could have been thinking when she had actually   
been jealous of Ranma earlier. Her mother's over-affection was   
something that could only be handled in small doses.  
Ranma nodded, Nodoka handed the both of them their   
bentos, and they were off.  
  
Ami liked getting to school early. It gave her a chance to   
be involved in school activities, do some reading, and on the rare   
occasion that she needed to, finish her homework. So they had   
finalized Ranma's enrollment with time to spare. Ami decided that   
Ranma should wait in the school yard after they had finished. She   
had a few things to do that would certainly bore him and besides,   
she hoped he would make a few friends and get out of his shell.  
Ranma wandered around the yard, head down, shoulders   
slumped, waiting for Ami to return. He did not want to be there,   
he didn't want to be anywhere at the moment. He wasn't watching   
where he was going, so he didn't even notice when he knocked a   
student over into the dirt. Ranma walked on without even a sign   
that he had even seen the boy.  
"Hey!" Sai shouted at the guy in the red shirt that had just   
knocked him down. He didn't know who the kid was, but he had   
just made a big mistake. Sai was the leader of the toughest gang in   
Juuban middle school and no one messed with him and just walked   
away. He and his five friends would teach the new kid a lesson   
over his rude behavior.  
Makoto was just arriving at school, a little later than usual,   
with Minako at her side, who was actually going to be on time   
today. She was almost as bad at being on time as Usagi and   
Artemis was finding increasingly more difficult to wake her up in   
the morning. They had both had just entered the school yard when   
the fight between Ranma and the six toughs began.  
Ami turned the corner and was shocked to immobility to   
see her brother taking on all the toughest guys at school at once.   
She had assumed that after such a long training journey that her   
brother would be an impressive fighter, but six kids versus one   
hardly seemed like fair odds to her.  
Ranma hadn't looked back when the guy called out to him,   
he hadn't even heard, yet he expertly dodged out of the way of the   
guy's punch. The pig-tailed boy was snapped back to reality to find   
himself surrounded by six tough-looking kids.  
"Wow, I've never seen anyone fight that way before,"   
Minako remarked as she watched the pig-tailed boy flow out of the   
way of attacks, moving with the same fluid grace when he struck   
back. So graceful, it was more like watching a ballet dancer than a   
fighter.  
"I don't think he's as tough as some of the enemies we've   
faced, but for a human, he's impressive," Makoto said as she licked   
her lips, impressed despite her superior tone.  
"Who's that fighting?" Rei asked.  
Makoto and Minako nearly jumped out of their skin at the   
sudden appearance of their friend and fellow senshi. "What are   
you doing here?" they both asked simultaneously.  
Rei looked a little embarrassed and said, "Well, I wanted to   
return these notes that I borrowed from Ami before school started."  
Makoto and Minako nodded, but didn't look at all   
convinced.  
"You know, he kind of reminds me of . . .," Makoto trailed   
off when she realized what she was about to say.  
"Your old sempai?" Rei quipped.  
Makoto blushed in embarrassment. "Well, he does!"  
"You know who he reminds me of?" Minako asked with a   
big smile.  
"Who?" Makoto and Rei both asked.  
"My future boyfriend."  
Makoto was indignant. "Hey! I saw him first!"  
"Did not!"  
Watching the two argue, Rei wondered if she should just   
find Ami and then head right on to her school. After turning to   
watch the handsome boy beating up the toughs again, she decided   
that she could stay a little longer.  
Ami had expected Ranma to be a good fighter, he had been   
training ever since he could walk, but she had never expected for   
him to be this good. She saw him do things that she wouldn't even   
try as Sailor Mercury. Makoto may have been able to imitate him   
when transformed to Sailor Jupiter, but even then it was doubtful.   
There was almost something unnatural with the way his body bent   
out of the way of attacks, like he knew the way his opponents   
would move before they did. She also wondered if some of those   
moves could be adapted for senshi.  
Ranma slowly brought his hands down as he surveyed the   
six punks now lying on the ground. Those that were still conscious   
were in serious pain and wouldn't be getting up soon, though none   
of them had suffered permanent injury. It had been close a few   
times there, but in the end he had retained control of himself. He   
knew that against untrained people like this, he could really could   
maim or even kill if he didn't hold back. Still, he had hoped they   
would have been better than that. He needed someone to train   
against if he was going to keep his edge.  
"Hey, it's Ami-chan," Minako pointed out their friend out of   
a crowd who had also been watching the fight.  
"She seems kind of stunned," Rei noted. "Do you think . .   
.?"  
Makoto finished her thought. "That she could be interested   
in the new guy? It's possible. Maybe she knows something about   
him."  
"Yeah, let's go ask her!" Minako suddenly enthused,   
running to greet Ami.  
Makoto and Rei ran after her, not wanting to be left out.  
Ami was shaken out of her daze when she noticed Minako,   
Makoto, and Rei run up to her. She had a hard time believing that   
her brother had won, but was shocked that he had done so without   
getting hit once himself. The toughs he had faced lacked any real   
training or fighting experience, but with six against one, they   
should have been able to tag Ranma at least once.  
Minako waved her hand in front of Ami's face after their   
calls had elicited no response. "Hello, Ami-chan, anyone in   
there?"  
This seemed to snap Ami out of whatever daze she was in.   
"What? Oh Minako, is there something you wanted?"  
"Yeah, what do you--"  
Makoto cut her off, pushing her out of the way, and asked,   
"Do you know anything about that guy who just won the fight over   
there?"  
Rei and Minako were instantly at the tallest senshi's side,   
also eager for the info.  
"Well," Ami started to explain, feeling uncomfortable   
under their close scrutiny. "He's my brother."  
"What?!" Minako, Makoto, and Rei all said   
simultaneously.  
"How did this--?"  
"Since when have you--?"  
"Why didn't you--?"  
Ami cut off their questions by explaining. "I never   
mentioned Ranma before because I thought that he had died a long   
time ago. He's been traveling with my father studying martial arts   
for nearly ten years. Recently, our father died in a training accident   
in China, so he came home. He just arrived last night."  
"So is he your younger or older brother?" Makoto asked.  
"Actually, we're twins."  
All three of her friends too a long look at the boy and then   
turned to her with skeptical expressions.  
"I know we don't look that much alike. We're fraternal   
twins, which means that two separate egg cells were fertilized at   
the same time."  
Her friends all looked a little green. Minako told Ami,   
"You didn't need to go into that much detail."  
"Sorry," Ami replied, embarrassed.  
Just then the bell rang, signaling it was time for everyone to   
go to class.  
"Rei, shouldn't you--?" Ami started and then realized that   
there was no sign of the fire senshi.  
The others all looked around with confusion. "How does   
she do that?" Makoto wondered out loud.  
Usagi ran up to her friends. After a few gasps of air, she   
asked them, "Hey, did I miss anything?"  
Ami, Minako, and Makoto all sweat-dropped.  
  
"Class," the teacher said as she stood next to a unfamiliar   
boy. "Today we have a new student. His name is Ramna . . .   
Saotome?" She blinked as she studied his record closely. "I   
thought you were Ami's long-lost brother?"  
"I am. I decided to keep my father's family name."   
There was something in the boy's voice that stopped the   
teacher from inquiring any further, but also made her wonder if she   
should arrange a visit with the school counselor. "Would you   
please tell the class something about yourself?"  
Ranma looked over the class with a sullen expression that   
only lightened when his eyes settled on his sister. He shrugged and   
said, "Been training in martial arts all over the place so I haven't   
been to school much before. Just came back from China. Ami's   
my sister. Um . . . can't think of anything else to say."  
Minako's hand immediately shot up.  
"Yes, Minako?" the teacher asked.  
"Can I ask the new student a question?" she said with her   
most innocent expression. Ami was immediately worried.  
"All right," the teacher replied, though she doubted this was   
a good idea. She hadn't known the new student long, but she had   
already proven herself to be something of a trouble maker.  
Minako nodded to the teacher and then turned to her new   
victim . . . er, fellow student. "So Saotome-kun . . . do you have a   
girlfriend?"  
Several girls in class, including Makoto, glared at the   
senshi of love. Ami groaned and rubbed her forehead. She should   
have known that something like this would happen. Usagi, who   
had been catching a few extra z's, studied the new boy with   
interest. *He's cute,* she concluded. *But not as cute as Mamo-  
chan!*  
Ranma only looked confused by the question. "Um . . .   
no," he answered honestly.  
"Want one?" Minako asked immediately.  
Ranma watched in even more confusion as several of the   
other female students suddenly jumped Minako in order to shut her   
up.  
The teacher was a bit stunned as well. "Ah Ranma, why   
don't you take the empty seat near your sister?"  
Ranma nodded and went to the indicated seat, thankful it   
was some distance from Minako and the other students who were   
still brawling.  
"You'll have to forgive Minako," Ami told her brother after   
he sat down. "She's a bit . . . impulsive."  
Ranma nodded absently and looked out the window. Ami   
sighed when she realized that her brother wasn't paying attention to   
her at all. The fight earlier, combined with the way he was acting   
now, all seemed to indicate that it would be a long time before he'd   
get over his anger and depression.  
The teacher was used to strange occurrences and   
troublesome students in her class, especially since Minako had   
transferred in. However, now even her increased patience was   
being strained. The new student Ranma was staring out the   
window and ignoring her lessons. That was all right with her,   
considering his recent loss, but more upsetting was the commotion   
his presence was causing with the other students. Most of the girls   
in class were staring at him with hearts in their eyes. Most of the   
boys were glaring at him with daggers. Even Ami wasn't   
displaying her usual level of attentiveness, no doubt worried about   
her brother. She was very relieved when the period ended, but she   
would make sure to pass a few warnings off to the next teacher.  
Ranma continued to stare out the window, not noticing   
when the teachers changed. He also ignored the small pile of notes   
that had accumulated on his desk.  
His sister Ami wished that she could just ignore her own   
pile of notes, which she had struggled to answer while still paying   
attention to the teacher and Ranma. Most were from girls who   
wanted her to convince Ranma to take them out on dates. Ami   
developed a standard reply for all these, that there has been a recent   
tragedy in the family and it would be best to leave him alone for   
the time being. She knew that would make most girls back off, but   
she'd have to watch for the few bolder ones who would want to   
'comfort' her brother. Hopefully, she'd be able to handle them.  
Then there were the notes from her friends. Usagi was   
wondering why Ami had never talked about her cute brother   
before. Ami wrote back what she had basically told the other   
senshi earlier. Makoto wanted to know what his favorite food was.   
Ami answered that he seemed to eat anything and had a very big   
appetite. Minako wanted to know if there was anything she could   
do to make Ranma feel better. Ami replied that while she   
appreciated the offer, she thought it would make Ranma more   
uncomfortable. Ami could feel the impending disaster. She knew   
that her friends were a little boy crazy, but this was ridiculous.   
There was a feeling of dread when the lunch bell finally rang.  
Seeing most females in class already inching towards   
Ranma, who looked as if he hadn't even heard the lunch bell, Ami   
shook her brother's shoulder and said, "Ranma, it's lunch time.   
Why don't we get our bentos and eat outside, okay?"  
Ranma nodded absently and stood up. School had been   
dull so far, combined with all the things on his mind, he just   
couldn't pay attention to any of it. It would be good to eat   
something, though he'd much rather be training. He could feel his   
edge slipping away. How could he live up to his father's dream of   
being the greatest martial artist of all time when he was stuck   
sitting in a classroom all day? *Maybe I can eat real quick and get   
in some training during lunch time.*  
Ranma was snapped out of his thoughts when he noticed   
that the exit was blocked by a wall of girls, with a really tall girl in   
front and two others, like blonde book ends, to either side of her.   
One was the girl that had asked him that odd question and the other   
had this really strange hairstyle like twin buns, though it did   
resemble something he had seen in China once.  
Seeing this human wall move closer and closer, Ranma   
panicked. He grabbed his sister by the waist and jumped out the   
window. In his haste, he had forgotten that he was on the third   
floor.  
Ami screamed in terror as she suddenly found herself   
plummeting three stories. Even after all her experiences as Sailor   
Mercury, there wasn't anything as scary as seeing the ground   
rushing up at her at a speed that she knew would cause broken   
bones. So it was with some surprise that her brother, who held her   
in his arms, kicked off the first story, did a flip in the air, and   
landed easily in the school yard.  
Still too startled to notice her brother's smile, Ami scolded   
him, "Don't ever do that again!" Then recovering, added, "Though   
that was very impressive."  
Ranma, still smiling, said, "Yeah, I'm surprised that I was   
able to pull it off. Never tried anything like it before."  
"What?!"  
Ranma set his sister down and rubbed the back of his head   
in embarrassment. "I kind of forgot that we were on the third   
floor."  
Ami sighed. "I guess there's nothing to do about it now.   
Though you really should look before you leap, Ranma."  
He laughed a bit nervously. "Well, I'll try from now on."   
Looking around, he added, "We're outside now at least. Let's eat!   
I want to try to get some training in afterwards."  
"Ranma, our bentos are still in our lockers inside the   
building, remember?"  
"Oh yeah." Ranma asked her nervously, "Could you go and   
get them?"  
Ami guessed why Ranma was so reluctant to go back   
inside. "Ranma, you took on six toughs without any problem and   
you're afraid to go back inside because of a few girls?"  
"I'm not afraid of anything!" Ranma shouted immediately.   
The smile was gone from his lips now and there was a defiant glare   
in his eyes, as if he was daring the world to prove him wrong. Ami   
wondered what Ranma was so afraid of that made him   
automatically put up such a front.  
"It's okay, Ranma. I'll go inside and get our bentos. You   
just wait here and I'll be right back."  
"Yeah, thanks sis."  
Ami grinned at being called 'sis.' "After all, what are big   
sisters for?"  
"Hey, I'm the older one. You're my little sister!"  
Ami laughed as she started to make her way to back inside.   
"Whatever you say, little brother."  
  
Ranma had been waiting for only a few minutes, when he   
saw the mob of girls rush outside. There was a chance that they   
weren't after him, but that wasn't a chance that he was willing to   
take. For some reason he couldn't define, it made him incredibly   
nervous when girls paid him that much attention, except for his   
mother and sister. Ranma jumped up into a tree and hid amongst   
the foliage.  
He watched as the girls searched around for him, some   
covertly and some overtly. One girl even stopped under the tree in   
which he was hiding. "Where could he be?" he could faintly hear   
the girl say to herself. "I only wanted to share my lunch with him."  
Ranma couldn't stop his stomach from growling when he   
thought of all the goodies that the his lunch contained. He hadn't   
realized just how hungry he was until that moment. He hoped in   
vain that the girl hadn't heard it, but she must have had sharp ears   
for her head snapped up to look in the tree.  
"Who's there?" she called out. "Is that you, Luna?   
Artemis?"  
Ranma sunk deeper into the tree's foliage, absently noting   
that this was the tall girl with the pony-tail that had blocked him   
earlier. She was easy to recognize since she wore a different   
school uniform that the other girls. Ranma wondered about that a   
little as he hoped she would give up her search.  
She almost looked like she was getting ready to climb up   
after him, when his sister Ami ran up to the girl, carrying two   
bentos. This time Ranma was able to stop his stomach from   
grumbling, though he couldn't stop his mouth from watering. He   
was starving and his lunch was right there, but the tall girl blocked   
his path.  
"Makoto, have you seen my brother around? I only left him   
hear a few minutes ago so I could get our lunches."  
Makoto shook her head. "Nope, and I've been looking for   
him. I thought that he'd like to try some of my lunch."  
They both glanced up as a low growl came from above   
them. "What was that?" Ami asked.  
"Don't know. I think a cat got stuck --"  
Both were stunned when Ranma fell out the tree right   
before them, looking up in fright. Ami put a hand on his shoulder.   
"Ranma, are you all right?"  
That seemed to snap Ranma out of whatever state he was   
in. "Yeah, it was just the thought of being in a tree with a   
c…ca..c…cat. I don't like them."  
"No kidding," Makoto commented. "But if it wasn't a cat   
up there, what was that sound?"  
Ranma's stomach took this as its cue and growled again.   
Ranma looked embarrassed.  
Both girls giggled. "I guess you really are hungry, Ranma,"   
Ami told her brother. "Why don't we just have our lunch right now   
under this tree, okay?"  
There was a not-so-subtle glance from Ranma over to   
Makoto who looked away from him and whistled innocently.  
Ami smiled. "Ranma, I'd like you to meet a good friend of   
mine, Makoto. She only wants to have lunch with us. I'm sure that   
she won't be any trouble."  
Ranma didn't see how he could tell his sister who she could   
and couldn't have lunch with, even if the girl made him nervous.   
"Um . . . hi."  
Makoto was a little surprised by the look that Ami gave her,   
that seemed to mean that she had better behave or else. She bowed   
and said, "It's nice to meet you, Saotome-san."  
As soon as she saw the expression of pain flicker across   
Ranma's face, she knew that she had said something wrong. "Oh,   
I'm sorry! I forgot, I didn't mean your father. . ."  
"It's all right," Ranma replied as he took his bento from his   
sister and opened it up.  
Not knowing what she could say that wouldn't just make   
things worse, Ami sat down and started on her own bento. Makoto   
felt that she had to say something more, but when nothing occurred   
to her, she decided to follow Ami's example.  
Their silent meal was suddenly interrupted by the   
appearance of Minako, with a very exhausted-looking Usagi in   
tow. The reason that she had been chasing around her fellow   
senshi was made obvious by the fact that Minako was holding onto   
Usagi's bento.  
"Hey, can we eat with you guys?" Minako asked as she sat   
down and started on her bento without waiting for an answer. Ami   
nodded absently. Makoto was too busy covertly glancing at Ranma   
to notice. Ranma was wholly focused on demolishing the meal   
before him.  
Usagi, finally caught up, had to catch her breath as well   
before angrily snatching her bento back from Minako, sat herself   
down, and began inhaling her meal.  
Makoto blinked as she glanced from Ranma, to Usagi, and   
back to Ranma. They were eating at exactly the same rate. It was   
as if their movements were synchronized somehow. She wasn't the   
only one to notice this. Minako was looking around with   
something akin to wonder.  
Makoto and Minako looked at each other, an understanding   
passing between them. "Too weird," Makoto said. Minako nodded   
in reply.  
At the rate they were going, it was no surprise that both   
Ranma and Usagi had finished their lunches in record time. Usagi   
was already looking over to Makoto, wondering how she could   
convince her friend to part with some of her food. Ranma was   
glancing over at his sister's bento, pondering if Ami really was   
going to finish the entire meal in front of her.  
"Still hungry, eh Ranma?" Minako said in a sultry voice as   
she slowly moved closer to him. Ranma and the others were too   
stunned by her spectacle to do anything but watch. "I've got   
something that you can . . . gnaw on."  
Ranma gulped now that Minako was only inches away from   
him. "Um, yeah?"  
"My . . . rice and pickles!" She announced in a cheery tone   
as she held out her bento to Ranma. The other senshi all face-  
faulted.  
"Thanks," Ranma told her as he carefully took the bento   
from her, like he expected it to turn out to be a bomb or something.  
"My pleasure, Ranma-chan," she said with a wink.  
"Chan?!" Makoto and Usagi shouted simultaneously. Ami   
rubbed her forehead again as she felt her earlier headache returning   
in full force.  
"Yes," she explained in a teacher-like tone while waving   
her finger in the air. "Ranma is Ami's brother and since Ami-chan   
is almost like a sister to me, it's almost like Ranma's my brother   
too. Isn't that right, Ranma-chan?"  
Minako and the other senshi glanced over to Ranma to see   
that he hadn't heard any of her explanation since he was face-deep   
in the remains of her bento.  
A few moments later, Ranma set the empty bento down   
beside his own, not even a single grain of rice remaining. That was   
when he noticed that everyone there was staring at him. "What? Is   
there some food on my face?"  
  
"Your friends are kind of strange," Ranma remarked to his   
sister as they were leaving the school for the day. The rest of the   
day had been mostly uneventful, except during gym where most of   
the girls either cheered Ranma on or fought over him. Makoto and   
Minako had been the most vocal in both instances.  
"Well, they're not always like that," Ami told her brother,   
though that wasn't entirely true. Still, Ami was glad that Makoto   
had to stay in school for cooking club and Minako had volleyball   
practice. They had both looked like they want to skip out on them,   
but Ami convinced them otherwise. Usagi had fled the moment   
the school bell had rung. She had mentioned something about a   
date with Mamoru.  
Roughly a dozen boys blocked the exit to the school. Ami   
recognized some of them from the group that Ranma had beaten up   
before school. Strangely enough, they made any hostile move   
towards them.  
"Been waiting for you, Ranma," one of them spoke.  
"How do you know my name?" Ranma asked.  
The kid shrugged. He was taller and somewhat bulkier   
than Ranma. He was still wearing his school uniform, but the   
jacket was undone and there was a red bandanna wrapped around   
his spiky black hair. Ranma noticed that most of the other boys   
also wore red bandannas, either on their heads or arms. "Taeko's in   
your class," he said, indicating one of the boys with a thumb.  
"What's your name then?"  
The boy smiled, his over-long canines resembling fangs.   
"The name's Sai. Rest of the boys here are part of my gang, the   
Stone-Blood."  
Ranma eyed them all a bit warily. None of them were at   
his level, but their numbers would make a significant difference.   
Ranma wasn't particularly used to fighting multiple opponents. He   
still didn't have too much trouble, as long as the numbers were low.   
"So you're looking for a rematch?"  
Sai laughed and after a moment the other boys started   
laughing as well. Ranma only looked at them in confusion.  
"What's going on here?" Ranma asked them.  
Sai cut off the laughter with a sharp hand gesture and   
explained, "Before you came, I was the best fighter at school.   
There wasn't any kid here that I couldn't beat. The only person I   
knew who was better was my cousin, he could wipe the floor with   
me, but I think you're even better than him. Heck, the six of us   
couldn't even touch you."  
"So what do you want?"  
"We want to make you our new leader so you can teach us   
how to fight like you do."  
"So you can get better at bullying kids and stealing their   
lunches?"  
Sai looked outraged. "Hey, we don't do any of that! We   
keep things peaceful by making sure no one doesn't cause any   
trouble. We don't mess with innocent kids."  
"What about the punch you threw at me then?"  
Sai's look of outrage changed to that of embarrassment.   
"You caught me at a bad time, okay?"  
Ranma looked them over. The last thing he wanted to be   
was the leader of a gang. He was sure his mom wouldn't like the   
idea at least, and he didn't like being responsible for others like   
that. Still, training them would help his own training and while not   
good fighters now, most of them did have potential, especially Sai.   
"I'll think about your offer, okay?" he finally said.  
Sai nodded. "All I can ask for." With another sharp   
gesture, the boys stopped blocking the gate, letting Ranma and   
Ami pass through unbothered.  
  
Only after they had walked a few blocks with no sign of   
pursuit, did Ami finally breathe a sigh of relief. Her brother had   
certainly become popular quickly, a little too popular for her tastes.   
First, all the girls wanted to date him. Then all the boys seemed to   
want to beat him up. Now a gang wanted him to be their leader! It   
seemed to Ami that her relatively quiet school days would be a   
thing of the past now that Ranma was here. Not that Ami would   
have it any other way.  
Ami had thought too soon as a girl suddenly appeared   
before them. Rei eyed Ranma while saying to her, "I forgot to   
return the notes I borrowed from you yesterday before school, so   
here they are."  
Ami accepted the notebook from Rei and made to move on,   
when Rei spoke again. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your   
brother, Ami?"  
With some chagrin, Ami told her brother, "Ranma, this is   
another one of my friends, Rei Hino."  
Rei bowed respectfully. "Pleased to meet you, Ranma-  
kun."  
With some nervousness, Ranma bowed in return, saying,   
"Nice to meet you too. Um, how did you do that?"  
Rei blinked in surprise. "Do what?"  
"Appear suddenly before us like that. I didn't sense your   
presence at all." Ranma was quite impressed. With all that had   
happened at school, he had made himself as sensitive as possible.   
He didn't think that there was anyone who could sneak up on him   
when he was like that.  
Rei blushed a little. "It is a secret technique of a Shinto   
Shine priestess."  
"Did you think you can teach me how to do that?" Ranma   
asked eagerly. He would learn anything, no matter how difficult,   
to live up to his father's wish of being the greatest martial artist in   
the world.  
"Well, I don't know," Rei hesitated. It was something she   
really shouldn't be teaching to anyone but the priest or priestess   
that would succeed her. Besides, she wasn't sure if she would be   
able to teach it in the first place. The actual technique was easy,   
but the spiritual training it took just to be able to do it was hard.   
"It's really something that only should be taught to another Shinto   
priest or priestess . . . but if you came to the shrine and got my   
grandfather's permission, I guess I could teach you."  
"All right. Ami, can we go to the shrine tomorrow after   
school?"  
Ami shook her head. "I've got my juku tomorrow, Ranma."  
"Oh, that's right --"  
"I could take you!" Rei interrupted.  
"Huh?" Ranma said as he turned to her again.  
Rei was blushing and speaking more hesitantly now. "I   
mean, I could meet you after school and take you there. It wouldn't   
be any trouble for me."  
"All right, if it isn't any trouble."  
"Right, see you then!" With that, Rei practically ran all the   
way to the shrine, leaving two very bewildered teenagers behind.  
  
Ranma was a little surprised when they got home that the   
house was empty. "Where's mom?"  
"Ranma, mother is a very busy doctor at Juuban General.   
Normally, she rushes out of here in the morning and doesn't get   
home until late. Yesterday was one of her rare days off."  
"Oh."  
Ami couldn't help notice the note of disappointment in her   
brother's voice. "I guess it would be nice to have a mom who's   
here to greet us when we get home, but we wouldn't be able to   
afford this apartment then. Besides, mom loves her work."  
Ranma grinned suddenly. "Guess it's better this way. I   
didn't think she was ever going to let me out of her sight this   
morning."  
Ami laughed a little at that. "She probably wouldn't have if   
I hadn't distracted her. I think mom feels guilty about how busy   
her work keeps her and so tries to compensate by being overly   
attentive when she can. It does make her a little overbearing at   
times." Ami decided to change the subject. "We should probably   
get started on our homework now. I'll help you through it since I   
noticed you weren't paying that much attention in class."  
"Can't we do that sometime later? I mean, I wanted to get   
some training in while it's still light out."  
"Ranma, the sun won't set for hours now. Besides, where   
outside are you planning to train?"  
"I don't know," Ranma admitted.  
"Look, I'll make some snacks for us to have while we do   
our homework. After we finish, we can go over to the athletic   
complex and set you up with a membership. That way you can   
train all you want no matter how dark it is outside."  
"Snacks?" Ranma asked eagerly.  
Ami giggled. It seemed that Ranma was much like Usagi   
in the respect that their stomachs always came first, though she had   
a hard time imagining Usagi as a martial artist. 


End file.
